As it happened - Bangladesh vs West Indies, Men's T20 World Cup, Super 12s

It was not a perfect game for West Indies but they have opened their account. Batting first, they managed 142 only because of some late fireworks, but then it could be argued the pitch wasn't easy to bat on.

Then while defending, they dropped catches and misfielded to make Bangladesh's life easier. It eventually came down to the final over with Bangladesh needing 13. Andre Russell didn't miss his mark but there was a bye sneaked in, a dropped catch and a misfield. Mahmudullah had the strike for the last four balls and needed to score ten. He brought it down to four needed from the final ball but couldn't lay bat on to yet another Russell yorker.

With two points in the kitty, West Indies have kept their hopes alive. Their side also looks more balanced with Chase as the anchor (and also providing another spin-bowling option) and Holder lending experience with bat, ball and in the field. Chris Gayle's form, though, remains a concern.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, have now three defeats in three games in the Super 12s. And it's not going to get easier for them; their remaining two games are against South Africa and Australia. At the moment, they are hanging by the thinnest of the threads.

That's all from our side for this game. Let's head over to Dubai, where Afghanistan are taking on Pakistan.

West Indies pull it back a bit with two tight overs, with Ravi Rampaul sending back Mushfiqur Rahim when the batter failed to connect a scoop and was bowled. But Jason Holder ended up conceding 11 in the 16th over to bring it down to 33 needed from 24 balls. Liton Das is well set, Mahmudullah is looking good.

For a moment, it looked like Bangladesh were not going anywhere. They were 55 for 2 after ten overs and the asking rate was almost touching nine. But two big overs have helped them keep things in check even though they lost Soumya Sarkar, with Gayle taking a diving catch at short third man.

Bangladesh 80/3 after 12 overs. They need 63 from 48 balls. West Indies need a couple of quick wickets.

Shiva Jayaraman: After the first innings, Pooran said 142 on this pitch was good as 160 on any other and here is why. West Indies’ scoring rate crossed six an over for the first time only in the 16th over even though they had lost only four wickets.

Now, teams have made totals of 140-plus 1396 times in T20Is. Of 1320 of those instances for which we have the ball-by-ball data, only once has a team has touched run-a-ball for the first time later than the 16th over while having five or more wickets in hand. Zimbabwe touched six runs an over for the first time in their 17th over when they made 140 against India at Harare in 2010.

Does that mean the pitch is difficult to bat on? But then we saw Pooran and later Holder scoring much more freely. Do West Indies have a defendable total here?

Shakib Al Hasan fails to make an impact in his debut innings as an opener. Ends up skying Andre Russell and Jason Hodler settles under it at mid-on. In the next over, Holder has Naim chopping on to make it 29 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. The required rate has gone past eight.

Shakib Al Hasan, who was struggling with his hamstring earlier in the day, has walked in to open the innings with Mohammad Naim. Mohammad Isam tells me it's the first time he is opening the innings for Bangladesh, and only the fourth time in all T20s - once in the CPL and twice in domestic cricket.

The reason behind the move could be he cannot take quick singles because of the injury, so Bangladesh want him to target the boundary in the powerplay. Kane Williamson did something similar during the IPL when he was struggling with his hamstring. So far, Shakib is batting on a run-a-ball 8.

Kieron Pollard, meanwhile, hasn't come out to field. Hayden Walsh Jr is the substitute.

Nicholas Pooran (40 off 22) and Roston Chase (39 off 46) fell on successive balls in the 19th over, bowled from Shoriful Islam. Dwayne Bravo fell on the first ball of the 20th and it started looking like West Indies may not reach even 135. But after Bravo's wicket, Pollard returned. He was at the non-striker's end when Holder launched successive sixes off. Pollard wrapped up the innings with the third six of the over to take West Indies to 142 for 7.

"This is not a 170 track," Nicholas Pooran says after the innings. "It's not easy to hit cross-bat shots off good length balls. This 142 looks like 160."

Chase started it by driving a slower ball from Mustafizur down the ground before Pooran took over. He pulled Mustafizur for four before smashing back-to-back sixes off Shakib in the next over. West Indies have ransacked 29 from two overs.

In a bizarre sequence of events in Sharjah, Kieron Pollard has walked back to the pavilion. He wasn't hurt. In fact, he was at the non-striker's end. I think it could be the heat. So looks like it's retired hurt (or ill), and not retired out. He can bat later in the innings.

Andre Russell walks in but is run out at the non-striker's end as Taskin Ahmed gets his boot on a Roston Chase straight drive before it clatters into the stumps. Russell was backing way too much there.

In the next over, Mahedi drops Roston Chase at deep midwicket. It was a straightforward catch but it went through his fingers as he went reverse cups. Two balls later, Liton Das missed a stumping chance against Nicholas Pooran.

West Indies 70/5 after 14 overs. Could have been 70 for 7 with Pollard retired hurt.

These are not great signs for Bangladesh. Shakib Al Hasan was off the field earlier after he had some discomfort in the left leg. He returned soon after and now has bowled a tidy over to Pollard and Chase but was grimacing in his delivery stride.

Meanwhile, West Indies have hit only two boundaries in the first ten overs. The last time they managed two or fewer boundaries in the first ten overs in a T20I was against Sri Lanka in the 2012 T20 World Cup final.

It was a rank short ball but for some reason, Roston Chase tried to punch it over the bowler's head. He couldn't get the desired elevation and ended up hitting it towards bowler Mahedi Hasan, at just above the head height. The ball though bursts through his hands and the batters take a single. On the next ball, Hetmyer tries to attack the offspinner. He comes down the ground and takes on the long-off fielder. The bat, though, turns in his hands and he holes out.

Chase and Pollard are in the middle now and West Indies in deep trouble.

There is no Gaylestorm today as Mahedi Hasan rattles his stumps with a delivery that kept coming in with the around-the-wicket angle and snuck in through the gate. Gayle walks back for 4 off ten balls.

Shimron Hetmyer comes in at No. 4 as West Indies maintain the left-right combination. A side that largely deals in boundaries has scored just one four in the first five overs.

Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan, who had walked off feeling his left hamstring after fielding a ball, is back on the field.

The Bangladesh bowlers have kept both Gayle and Lewis calm. There have been lbw appeals against both batters but inside edge saved them on each occasion. As I was typing this, Lewis tried to cut loose on the last ball of the third over, bowled by Mustafizur Rahman, but ended up skying it towards backward square leg, where Mushfiqur Rahim pouched it.

Roston Chase is in at No. 3 and he gets off the mark with a couple of runs off the first ball he faces. Meanwhile, Gayle is on 4* off nine balls.

S Rajesh has got the answer: The team that loses will still not be totally out of the tournament, as it’s possible that five teams could finish with four points each if England win all the games and the rest of the teams share the remaining spoils equally.

Though with the net run rates they currently have – West Indies are on -2.550 and Bangladesh on -1.655 - it’s unlikely either of them will be in contention unless they inflict heavy defeats on their opponents in upcoming games.

Mahmudullah has won the toss and Bangladesh will bowl first. He says they have had a look at the stats and that's why opted to chase. Nurul Hasan, as expected, misses out. Soumya Sarkar comes in for him. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed is not playing as well and Taskin comes in. Mahmudullah says the second decision was made keeping in mind the number of left-hand batters in the West Indies side.

"It is [do or die], that's the reality of the situation," Kieron Pollard says. "We don't have anyone to blame but ourselves. As a team, we haven't batted well, you cannot hide from that." Lendl Simmons misses out for them, Roston Chases will make his T20I debut. Hayden Walsh Jr is out as well and Jason Holder walks in. Plus, Chris Gayle will open.

Here are the XIs:

West Indies: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Roston Chase, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Dwayne Bravo, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Ravi Rampaul

Bangladesh: 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Liton Das (wk), 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Soumya Sarkar, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman